A difference of 16 minutes
by Seidou
Summary: Ryan and Sharpay's 6th birthday party. Ryan feels like a ghost, wanting to disappear. And that's what he's doing, as he stands silently to the side, letting Sharpay outshine her shadow.


**"Thankyou thankyou, for all your birthday wish-es!"**

_"Welcome, welcome, to our big birthday bash!"_

**"All your presents make us, oh so very happy!"**

_"And your being here is giving lots of joy!"_

**"Welcome to the party, enjoy your stay, eat a bit of cake! Or try the BBQ, have a lovely steak! We love you, so thankyou, for listening to our song. We'll see you later, goodbye, farewell, so long!"** Sharpay trilled at the top of her lungs, smiling into the microphone. Ryan stood behind her, clearly nervous, clutching his own microphone. Sharpay had started off the song, and they had taken turns singing after that, Sharpay finishing off.

There was an echo of "Awwww…" going around the adults present at the party. The kids all squealed and clapped. The twin blondes eagerly left the small stage, though for different reasons. Sharpay went to bask in the admiration of the adults and her peers, but Ryan just wanted to get off the stage as quickly as possible.

Mrs. Evans was sipping her juice as she watched her children perform, silently proud of the tiny six-year-olds. Another mother came up to her…Mrs…Cross, was it? "Oh, your children are so talented, Maria!"

Maria nodded, "Yes, we see big things in the future for Sharpay."

"She is a fantastic singer, isn't she?" Mrs. Cross looked almost starstruck. Maria didn't really care. This was just some woman who was the parent of a child in Sharpay's class. Hopefully the parents would be leaving soon, and she could sit back and watch the children run around.

"Yes, and she'll be starting dance next week. We're hoping she'll be placed in Ryan's class. It will make things easier."

"Oh yes, you wouldn't want more travelling. It would be difficult."

"Well…" began Maria, but she didn't know how to continue. Truth be told, if the twins were in different classes, Ryan would probably want to quit. He had always been that way. Even as toddlers, Sharpay was always the one deciding what the two would play. Ryan would crawl after her, helping with whatever it was she was doing. "Yes." She finished.  
"Wow, Sharpay, you're a good singer!" squealed a brown-haired girl, whose name Sharpay couldn't remember. Sharpay laughed and smiled at all of her adoring "fans", whilst Ryan stood behind her, chewing on his lip nervously.

Even if you didn't know the twins, and everyone did, you could see the difference between Sharpay and Ryan. Sharpay always stood in front, straight backed, commonly with a large smile plastered across her face. Right now she was wearing a sparkling pink dress, blonde hair done up with shining golden hair accessories. Ryan always stood in the back, hunching slightly, eyes lowered and lips pressed together. His blonde hair was messy and he was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and pale shorts, with sneakers tied tightly on his small feet. He was slightly shorter than Sharpay, and hunching didn't help that at all.

When she felt that she had been admired enough, she proclaimed that it was present-opening time! The Evans were quite well-off, and it was a very large party, in their substantial backyard. There was a mini-stage, there was a clown, and a pile of presents almost as high as Sharpay herself. There was even a buffet table, and a bouncy-castle. Every child in the class had been invited, and some of the parents had "discreetly" stuck around, mostly to get free food.

Sharpay was standing in front of the presents now, grabbing Ryan and posing for the photo snapped by her mother, before grabbing the largest present and sitting down to unwrap it. When Ryan reached out a hand towards the presents, she slapped it away, whining, "I'm the oldest, I get to open them first!"

Ryan lowered his head, wishing he could just disappear. Sharpay eagerly unwrapped the present, delving into the box, and pulling out the presents.

* * *

It took only minutes for the entire pile to have been demolished, Ryan only unwrapping the ones addressed to him alone. Sharpay, now thoroughly bored of her brother looking at and touching the gifts, went to go and play on the castle, using one hand to hold the new tiara on her head. Ryan was slowly examining everything under the brim of his new hat. It was dark blue, much like his shirt, and too big, drooping to one side over his ear, and completely covering his hair. It was his favourite gift, even though his sister had scoffed at it. At least this way he could hide his face more easily when he was embarrassed. All he had to do was tilt his face, and you couldn't see his eyes or cheeks.

He turned his head, watching his sister and their classmates jump on the inflatable castle, Sharpay acting like the princess she always did. Truth be told, the boy couldn't wait for this party to be over, it was just turning out to be another day when Sharpay shone so brightly, he was lost. In public was so different from when it was just the two of them, when Sharpay was kind, and listened to her brother. Sure, she was always more talkative and controlling than Ryan - she just had more to say – but when they were playing or singing together, she was so much more gentle.

Ryan, being 6, did not fully understand the feelings he had towards his sister. He knew he loved her, but he also knew he didn't like when she was mean to him. He didn't like the way their parents hovered around Sharpay, and the way she thought the world revolved around her. He didn't know why it was that he never wanted to say anything, and he didn't know why Sharpay was always unhappy with him when there were other people around, and he didn't know why she was smarter than him. No matter how he tried, Ryan still could not read. His sister could, of course she could. But when he tried to read, the letters didn't make sense, they were all mixed up. Even sounding out the word didn't work!

Ryan picked up a book they had received in their pile of gifts, and held it carefully, resting it on his lap, staring intently at the title. With one small finger, he pointed to each of the letters in turn, slowly spelling out the word. "T." "H." "E." He paused, recognising that word, and then continued, slowly, interrupted by a high-pitched voice from behind him, "It says, 'The Princess and the Pea.' What are you doing Ryan? We're going to see the clown now, come on!"

She dragged him to the other side of the backyard, Ryan putting up no resistance. He just wished it were a magician that had come to the party. Someone to make him disappear. Hecouldn't wait 'til everyone was gone, so he could sink back into Sharpay's shadow.

* * *

**AN:** I like Ryan. 3. I believe he's dyslexic, but at this stage of his life, that isn't actually known. I have a friend who'se dyslexic, but he's actually above average intelligence. I love him too. 3 And this is whereRyan first gets his hat. I just wrote it to show how Sharpay was always the star of the show, like, the star of their 6th birthday party.

Oh, and the little song at the beginning? I can sing it. If I knew how to put a media file on the internet, you could all listen to it. XD But...I'm too stupid to.

This makes me wanna draw a picture of this... maybe I will...

So this was just a quick quick little piece of writing, seeing as I'm not doing anything right now. (Actually, I'm writing the 3rd chapter of Zakuro right now...not that anyone cares XD). Ah, summer vacation. Reviews appreciated, flames not. (Though...why would you flame this? It's so...non-offensive...)


End file.
